On August 5th, a group of 20 friends stepped off their Denver shuttle to enjoy a charitable evening in agrarian Hygiene. As last year's highest grossing auction item at the We Don't Waste "Fill a Plate for Hunger" benefit, this particular farm dinner had been making a difference in the Denver community for the better part of a year.
We Don't Waste is a food recovery nonprofit working hard to dismantle the statistic that 40% of food ends up in landfills due to inefficiencies in our food system. We Don't Waste visits grocery stores, restaurants, caterers and farms to redistribute fresh foods for immediate use at shelters and food pantries. Since 2009, We Don't Waste has recovered 28,000,000 meals for the hungry.
The celebratory evening hosted by Sol y Sombra Farm began with drinks and small bites under the trees. Six wines paired by @boulderwinemerchant and vodka cocktails by @woodycreekdistillers gave plenty of choices with the early-August menu:
Hors d’oeuvres
Sweet Corn Soup Shooters, Pickled Cucumber, Basil Oil
Heirloom Tomato, Peach & Basil Flatbread,
Local Goat Cheese
Peachtree Farms Pork Belly Skewer,
Fennel & Spring Onion Jam, Pickled Mustard Seed
Family Style Dinner
House-smoked Smoked Wild Caught Salmon,
Farm Tomato, Green Beans, Farm Egg, Honey Olive Vinaigrette
La Dolce Vita Market Steak,
Pasta, Grilled Farm Vegetables, Radish, Chimichurri
Grilled Summer Succotash,
Basil Vinaigrette, Shaved Cucumber,Carrot Top Pesto
Toasted Red Rice, Roasted Farm Vegetables, Avocado
Dessert
Sweet Corn Panna Cotta,Olive Oil Cake,
Summer Fruits, Honey
GB Culinary set a table far afield in the tall flowers for uninhibited views of Longs and Meeker peaks. Alex Thoele of @chainstation followed diners into the rows with dinner music fit for the scene. (See full photo gallery at the conclusion of this article.)
Among the guests on August 5th were like-minded members of @samecafe, Denver's first non-profit restaurant offering donation-based and work-trade meals expertly made with local ingredients.
TICKETS for We Don't Waste's 2018 "Fill A Plate for Hunger" benefit at the Denver Botanic Gardens on September 13th are still available here. Another private GB Culinary Farm Dinner will be auctioned off this year.
TICKETS to GB Culinary's remaining open-to-the-public farm dinners available here.
VENUE
Sol y Sombra Farm is first and foremost a flower farm, though they also grow fresh herbs, edible flowers and berries. You can find their longstanding booth at the Longmont Farmers Market on Saturdays and more recently at the Boulder County Farmers Market at Lafayette (on the corner E. Simpson St) on Thursdays. Sol y Sombra provides in-house floral design and sells direct to area florists and restaurants. Sol y Sombra's grounds are available for events and include access to their outdoor pizza oven, patio and lounge furniture as well as banquet tables and chairs for 30 guests. Contact Allison at 303.618.3510 to inquire about floral sales and/or events.
